Top News

Former Arsenal and England captain Tony Adams has candidly spoken about his struggles with alcoholism during his playing career and his remarkable journey towards 30 years of sobriety.

From cans of Carling in a devastated Wembley dressing room to his last pint of Guinness in an Essex pub, Adams’ 44-day drinking spree after Euro 96 became a defining chapter of his life. Having drunk heavily for 12 years, he realised he wanted to stop only in the last six months. Though he stayed sober throughout the Euros, Gareth Southgate’s missed penalty in the semi-final triggered his descent before his eventual recovery.

Adams recounts this turbulent period in his new book “1996”, released on April 14. The book follows his journey from England’s Euro 96 exit on June 26 to August 16, 5pm, when he finally refused another drink and joined Alcoholics Anonymous. He has remained sober ever since.

“I knew in April when I first met my therapist James West that I had reached the end. Drinking had crossed the line and it wasn’t safe for me anymore,” Adams recalls. “I forced myself through the tournament without drinking, but when Gareth missed, I had no choice left.”

Adams admits that the Euro 96 semi-final was a defining moment. “If Gareth had scored, maybe we’d have been in the final. I didn’t even know if I was fit to play—I had my ninth knee injection during injury time. When Gareth missed, the rest was history. I had no defence.”

After England’s elimination, Adams hit his lowest point. “I’ve never felt so lonely as when all the players left Burnham Beeches. The booze was everywhere. I used to wet myself. Everyone had gone home to their families, and I was left alone,” he says.

Reflecting on his behaviour, Adams, now 59, admits, “I didn’t have an alcohol problem—I had a ‘me’ problem.” He explains how low self-esteem and external validation from fans and media fed his addiction. “Once I fixed myself, I didn’t need to drink. I began to like myself again.”

His recovery was supported by therapist James West (who passed away in 2024), his wife Poppy, and the cathartic process of writing a trilogy of books—starting with “Addicted” in 1998, followed by “Sober” in 2017, and now “1996”. “People still tell me they got clean because of ‘Addicted’,” Adams says proudly.

Proceeds from his books helped fund his charity and treatment centre, Sporting Chance, which provides mental health support for professional athletes. “1996” revisits a transformative year that included putting his first wife Jane into rehab, confronting his own addiction, and witnessing Arsène Wenger’s arrival at Arsenal—a turning point both for Adams and for English football culture. “It’s the year that changed my life,” he says. “A celebration of recovery.”

The book delves into his upbringing in Romford, where he faced emotional neglect and violence. “My grandfather was a serious drunk and my father was filled with rage,” Adams reveals. “As a child, I had panic attacks but never spoke about them. My dad was always working and would just tell me to toughen up.”

His father, who avoided alcohol after seeing his own father’s addiction, turned to cigarettes and died of lung cancer at 63. “He couldn’t drink, so he raged. He was a good man but a very sick one,” Adams recalls.

Raised mostly by his mother, who struggled with obesity and later died of bone cancer, Adams says he learned to suppress his feelings. “I got all the wrong messages—to bottle things up. Football helped me do that.”

Adams debuted for Arsenal at 17, became captain at 21, and quickly fell into the drinking culture of the time. “I never liked the taste of alcohol but loved the effect. I’d drink lager, Guinness, wine—whatever was there. The money made it easy to drink more,” he says. He recalls wild holidays in Ibiza and even being too drunk to appear in Wham!’s ‘Club Tropicana’ video filmed at Pikes Hotel. “I fell in the pool. It was funny but dangerous—I could have died.”

His drinking worsened until a car crash in 1990, when he drove his Ford Sierra into a wall in Southend while four-and-a-half times over the legal limit. “That seatbelt saved my life,” he admits. “But even after prison, no one asked if I had a problem. I just went back to football.”

Adams even played matches drunk. “I played against Swindon and Everton while drunk and still got man of the match against Sheffield United,” he laughs. “We had a Tuesday Club at Arsenal, but I had Monday and Thursday ones too.”

His decline became visible. Dennis Bergkamp, newly arrived at Arsenal, was shocked by Adams’ poor performance in a 1996 FA Cup defeat to Sheffield United. “He looked at me like, ‘What have I done joining this lot?’” Adams recalls.

Friends like Lee Dixon tried to intervene, but Adams ignored them. “You avoid anyone who tells you the truth,” he admits. He even hid his drinking from England manager Terry Venables, meeting him for lunch after a drink to steady his nerves. “I masked it well,” he says.

Eventually, the mask slipped. “The press were powerful then. I still have trauma from the headlines,” Adams says. “But I stopped drinking before the Euros. When the lads went out in Hong Kong, I said I’d join the bar when we won the tournament.”

After Southgate’s miss, Adams began his epic binge. “People in pubs kept telling me how proud they were. I just kept drinking,” he says. His wife Jane was in rehab, and when his daughter told him her school was talking about his achievements, Adams felt broken. “I wanted to be a good dad, but I was lost.”

At rock bottom, Adams contemplated ending it all. “I had a pint of Guinness with brandy and wanted out. That’s when I surrendered,” he says. Joining AA changed his life. “I told my teammates I was in recovery. They were relieved.”

Adams threw himself into spirituality. “I went from being the hard-drinking captain to meditating and quoting religious texts. The lads thought I’d lost it,” he jokes.

Reflecting on Euro 96, Adams says Venables later admitted he should have used a back-four instead of a five-man defence. “It left me one-on-one with Andreas Möller too often,” Adams says. “It was a bit too Arsène and not enough George Graham.”

He has forgiven Southgate, saying he was pleased to see him guide England to penalty shootout wins at the 2018 World Cup and Euro 2024. “There was redemption,” Adams says.

Now 30 years sober, Adams laughs at his old self. “I’m proud I haven’t wet the bed for 30 years,” he jokes. “1996 was the year everything changed—from Arsène’s arrival to my wife’s rehab. It needed to be documented.”

He credits Wenger for helping him reach his full potential. “Before, I played at only 70%. Under Arsène, I hit 100%,” Adams says.

Adams rebuilt his life, living alone for six years before meeting his second wife Poppy. “She’s emotionally perfect—balanced, loving, and honest,” he says. They have three children together.

His son Oliver, from his first marriage, has also faced addiction and now runs his own recovery programme. “Watching him struggle was painful, but he found his way,” Adams says.

Adams warns that addiction still exists in football, though the substances have changed. “Now it’s gambling. It’s everywhere—every 14 seconds there’s an advert,” he says. “It’s like offering me a drink when I was an alcoholic.”

He also points to issues in other sports, like rugby players using painkillers and Tiger Woods’ struggles. “If Tiger wants help, there’s a place for him in my rehab,” he says.

Today, Tony Adams is healthy, confident, and content. “I like myself now. I’m going to ride into the sunset and live a fantastic life,” he concludes with a smile.